Heretofore football punters have used conventional football shoes during kicking. The problems with punting using conventional shoes is that the punter must use great force to depress the toes of the foot so as to present the upper surface of the foot for contact with the ball. The extra effort expended in forcing the toes downwardly and maintaining the toes in that position during punting detracts from the energy which the kicker should apply to actually punting the ball. The structure of the conventional football shoe makes it highly difficult for the punter to force the shoe into a shape wherein the toe area of the shoe extends angularly downward with respect to the heel and instep portion of the shoe.
Some football punters have avoided this problem by kicking without any shoe. However, kicking barefoot obviously exposes the foot to injury. Hitting the ball, on a punt, when the toe is not depressed allows the toe of the shoe to make contact with the ball, negating a smooth spiral effect to the ball. The result is a poor punt.